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MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

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Department of Atomic

Department of Space

Ministry of Agriculture

Ministry of Chemicals andFertilizers

Ministry of Civil Aviation

Ministry of Coal

Ministry of Commerce &

Ministry ofCommunications &Information Technology

Ministry of ConsumerAffairs, Food & PublicDistribution

Ministry of Corporate

Ministry of Culture

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Drinking Water& Sanitation

1. E­Tourist Visa: Government of India has launched e­Tourist Visa scheme (old name:

Tourist Visa on Arrival) on 27th November 2014 with the objective of facilitatingshort duration international travelers whose objective of visiting India is recreation,sightseeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration medical treatmentor casual business visit etc. As of 20th April 2015 the scheme has been extended to 45countries at 9 Indian airports. It is proposed to extend the e­Tourist Visa scheme to150 countries by March 2015. The scheme directly benefits the tourism industry ofthe country. The state governments will also get the benefit of increased tourists fall invarious tourist destinations across the country. The scheme also facilitatesinternational business seekers to avail visa on short notice. The scheme also has apositive impact on medical tourism of the country. This initiative of Government ofIndia has received overwhelming response. Since the launch of the Scheme on 27thNovember 2014 over 1, 15,000 (One lac fifteen thousand) visae have been issued.

2. IVFRT: The project on Online Visa application processing and monitoring (IVFRT) isbeing implemented across the world and within country. This has global outreachsince the scope of the project includes 177 Missions, 81 ICPs (Immigration CheckPosts), 13 FRROs (Foreigners Regional Registration Offices), and 716+ FROs(Foreigners Registration Offices) in the State/District Headquarters. The project hasbeen implemented in 160 Indian Missions and 450 FROs across the country. Out ofwhich 15 Indian Missions and 250 FROs have been implemented in last one year.Government has also planned to introduce biometrics (enrollment & verification)software and installation of e­Gates in all airports which will facilitate legitimatetravelers and strengthen security. The Project envisages facilitation services to thetravelers including on­line application forms, 24X7 on­line channel, phone supportfor grievance redressal and email/ SMS support for dissemination of information,application status and feedback. It has established uniform visa issuance processacross all the Indian Missions abroad. Availability of a Foreigners centralizedinformation sharing system with concerned Agencies has improved monitoring andtracking of the foreigners within country. State governments have also beenempowered by giving online access of the foreigners visa related services. Theproject is being implemented in a planned and phased manner (in consonance withinfrastructure/connectivity readiness of locations) supported by effectivecommunication, training and capacity building.

3. Long Term Visa (LTV) and Citizenship for Pakistan Minorities: The grant of visa

Ministry of Environmentand Forests

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of FoodProcessing Industries

3. Long Term Visa (LTV) and Citizenship for Pakistan Minorities: The grant of visato Pak nationals visiting India is governed by Indo­Pak Visa Agreement, 1974 asamended from time to time. These guidelines stipulate that in case it is found outthat, if the claim of Pakistani national is justified on the grounds of a well­foundedfear of persecution on account of race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnic identity andmembership of a particular social group or political opinion, the StateGovernments/Union Territory Administration have been empowered to recommendsuch cases to Ministry of Home Affairs for grant of LTV after due enquiry.

4. Indian Citizenship to eligible applicants is granted under the provisions of

citizenship Act 1955. Keeping in view the difficult living conditions of Pakistanminority communities a decision was taken to address their LTV and citizenshiprelated issues on priority base. For this a task force was constituted in September2014.

5. In September 2014 itself Govt of india has approved number of relaxations for

Long Term Visa (LTV) holders of Pakistani minorities which include thefacilitation for studies of their children, visit to additional places, easy renewal ofLTVs and renewal for prolonged period. They have also been permitted to engagethemselves in employment of purely private category i.e., excludingGovernment/Semi Government, Local Bodies, Cooperative jobs etc. Furtherchildren of Pak nationals staying on LTV can take admission in schools, colleges,universities, technical/professional institutions etc. subject to usual conditions. Alsothe State Government/UT Admn concerned may grant additional places limited to amaximum of two places at any given point of time in addition to the place of stay tosuch Pak nationals.

6. The LTV /Citizenship camps for such applicants are being conducted in 24

districts of 8 States for expediting the processing of their applications. Sinceconstitution of task force 3362 LTVs and 485 Citizenship Certificates have beenissued.

7. Return of 57 Indian Fishermen boats from Pakistan: In March 2015, 57 Indian

fishermen boats caught by Pakistan in last four years have been brought back toIndia with the expenditure of 1.27 Crore. This has been done after a gap of about 11years. Prior to this 53 Indian fishing boats were released by Pakistan in 2003­04.This was done with close coordination with Indian High Commission in Islamabad,Ministry of External affairs, Indian Coast Guard and Gujarat State Government. Bythis initiative of the Government, a process has been initiated whereby India may

this initiative of the Government, a process has been initiated whereby India mayhave continuous dialogue with Pakistan for release of boats caught by bothcountries.

8. Merger of PIO &OCI: Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2015 was enacted on 11­

03­2015. This was done with the prime objectives of merger of PIO and OCI cardsand easier acquisition of Indian Citizenship.

9. PIO card scheme was introduced on 19­08­2002 and thereafter OCI card scheme

was commenced w.e.f 01­12­2005. Both the schemes were running parallel eventhough OCI card scheme has become more popular. This was causing unnecessaryconfusion in the minds of applicants. Keeping in view the problems being faced byapplicants and to provide enhanced facilities to them, Government of India decidedto formulate one scheme after merging PIO & OCI containing positive attributes ofboth. Hence for achieving this main objective, Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2015was enacted. PIO scheme was rescinded w.e.f. 9.1.2015 and it was also notified thatall existing PIO cardholders are deemed to be OCI cardholders.

10. By enactment of Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2015 the acquisition of Indian

Citizenship has also been facilitated. Keeping in mind the busy travel schedule ofapplicants from professionals / businessmen’s category a relaxation upto 30 dayshas been given in continuous stay period of 12 months.

11. The enactment of Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2015 is extremely positive step in

seeking the help and contribution of Indian foreign based well wishers in thegrowth and development of the country.

12. The Government has reviewed the cross border firing across the International

Border of India­Pakistan and has decided given clear direction to firmly deal withthis issue.

13. Border Infrastructures: 103 km of fencing has been completed along the Indo­

Bangladesh (23 km) and Indo­Pakistan (80 km) border; 218 km of floodlighting hasbeen completed along the Indo­Bangladesh Border; 39 BOPs have been completedalong the Indo­Bangladesh (16) and Indo­Pakistan Border (23) border. An amountof Rs. 800 crore has been released to the Bordering States for development of thesocio­economic infrastructure in the bordering villages under BADP.

14. A decision to locate marine Police Training Institute (MPTI) at the Pindara

14. A decision to locate marine Police Training Institute (MPTI) at the PindaraVillage, Dist. Devbhumi, Dwarka, Gujarat for imparting training to the MarinePolice Personnel of Coastal States has been taken.

15. In order to strengthen the trade facility at Nepal border, construction of Integrated

Check Post (ICP) building at Raxaul has been completed. The Cargo Terminal ofICP Agartala was inaugurated on 06.12.2014.

16. Revision of norms of relief assistance: The Government has reviewed the norms

of relief assistance provided to the people affected by disasters from the StateDisaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).The revised norms have been issued by the Ministry of Home Affair’s letter dated8th April 2015. As per the revised norms, the scale of assistance to the next of kinof deceased person has been increased from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 4 lakh per person.The farmers, who have suffered crop loss between 33% and 49%, which wereearlier not eligible for assistance, will also be eligible for assistance. The scale ofassistance to agriculture sector has been increased by 50%. The scale of assistanceto other items has been increased by more than 35%. The State Governments for thefirst time can also use up to 10% of their SDRF balance on 'local disasters', whichare not included in the list of Centrally notified disasters. The Government of Indiahas permitted up to 10% of allocation under the State Disaster Relief Fund to bespent on search and rescue equipment. A maximum of 5% of SDRF allocation canbe spent on capacity building. The Government has also enabled automatic annualupdation of the norms.

17. Management of Disasters: During 2014­15, the Country faced number of major

disasters including cyclone HUDHUD in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, floods andlandslides in Jammu and Kashmir, landslides in Malingaon, Pune district, floods indifferent parts of the country including Assam and Meghalaya. The Government ofIndia has played a proactive role in supporting the State Governments to deal withsuch disasters, and provided all possible help to the concerned State Governmentsto manage such disasters, which have restricted the loss of human lives tominimum.

18. Approval of civil infrastructure project for NDRF battalions: The Government

of India has raised National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in 2006 to providespecialized response during a disaster or disaster like situation. However, NDRFwas having no permanent infrastructures for their battalions. In March 2015, the

was having no permanent infrastructures for their battalions. In March 2015, theGovernment of India has approved a proposal of Rs. 882.24 crore for creation ofinfrastructures like administrative block, training block and residential quarters for10 battalions of NDRF and their 10 team locations.

19. Udaan (Skill enhancement initiative for youth of J&K): Special Industry

Initiative for J&K ‘UDAAN’ aims at providing skill and enhancing employabilityof unemployed youths of J&K who are graduates, post graduates and 3 yearengineering diploma holders.

20. Since, May, 2014, 327 selection drives were organized including 13 mega drives at

Jammu, Srinagar, Udhampur, Kupwara, Budgam, Anantnag, Ganderbal, Baramulla,Reasi, Kathua and Chandigarh selecting nearly 9000 candidates for training. Ofthem 3700 candidates have already joined the training. During the period training of3361 candidates was completed, of whom 3133 candidates were offered jobs andabout 2500 are currently working in various companies across the country.

21. Winning Hearts and minds of People of Jammu and Kashmir:

(a) Civic Action Plan: The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) stationed inJ&K are carrying out various Civic activities to win over hearts and minds ofthe people and also to improve the image of Security Forces. Apart fromorganizing Medical Camps, vocational training courses, educationalexcursions, CAPFs did tremendous work in rescuing and providing immediaterelief to the people affected by the floods of Sept.2014. They also took specialinitiative to train 450 youths from the flood affected areas to become securityguards.

(b) SEWA: In order to make militancy affected women of J&K self reliant andhelp them in coming to the mainstream, a pilot project was entrusted to SelfEmployed Women Association (SEWA), Ahmedabad for training 125 womenfrom Kupwara. These women were trained in various skills like Cutting,Tailoring, Handicraft, Food Processing, Renewable Energy and Agricultureand allied activities.

22. Following the success of pilot project, a Resource Centre at Kupwara has been

setup to train 3000 trainees and 500 master trainers. So far 1369 trainees and 291master trainers have been trained. During the period from May 2014, 500 trainersand master trainers have been trained by SEWA.

23. Successful Conduct of Assembly Elections: Victory of the Democratic

23. Successful Conduct of Assembly Elections: Victory of the Democraticprocess: The year 2014 also saw the peaceful conduct of elections in the State ofJ&K. Election was held in five phases from 25th November 2014 to20th December. Attempts were made by the militants to disturb this processincluding an infiltration attempt in Arnia and attack on military camp in Uri, districtBaramulla. Despite the attempts of the militants, people showed tremendousenthusiasm in the democratic process with a voter turnout of about 66 percent.

24. Ministry of Home Affairs has approved a National Policy and Action Plan to

address Left Wing Extremism in the country and the same has been circulated toStates and other stakeholders in January, 2015. The Central Government has multi­pronged strategy to tackle LWE menace; Security Related Measures, DevelopmentRelated Measures, Ensuring Rights & Entitlements of Local Communities , PublicPerception Management and good governance. Declining trend in the quantum ofLeft Wing Extremism(LWE) violence as well as resultant killings which started in2011 has continued. There has been 22% less killings in 2014 compared to 2013. However, recent attacks in Chhattisgarh are cause of concern.

25. The UAV Base has been shifted from Hyderabad to Bhilai in March, 2015. This

would more than double the flying time available to the forces in the LWE affectedareas.

26. Out of 10 Bns sanctioned for Chhattisgarh, 05 Bns have been moved to

Chhatisgarh for counter anti­LWE operations. 27. Two Counter Insurgency and Anti­Terrorist (CIAT) Schools were sanctioned for

the newly created States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. 28. 33% reservation for women in Police Forces of UTs: With the objective to

effectively implement the women specific laws on the ground and to ensure properand speedy investigation and successful prosecution of women­related crimes, theCabinet has approved on 20th March, 2015 reservation of 33% for womenhorizontally and in each category (SC, ST, OBC & others) in direct recruitment inNon­Gazetted posts from Constable to Sub­Inspector in the police forces of all theUnion Territories including Delhi Police. Enhancement of representation of womenin police will alter the existing police work culture, creating gender sensitiveservice delivery mechanism, inculcating a sense of security in the minds of women

service delivery mechanism, inculcating a sense of security in the minds of womenwho constitute half the population and is expected to have a game changing impact.Visibility of women police personnel will encourage women to approach the Policeas they can confide or report the incident to female Police officer, thereby, leadingto reporting of crimes, particularly so in respect of sex related crimes. Moreover, ina vibrant democracy like ours, the participation of women in public protests,demonstrations, political activities etc. has become common. Such situations can bemanaged in a dignified and humane way with more women police personnel at thefunctional level.

29. Mobile App “Himmat”: With the view to instill confidence in women, to help

women in distress and to ensure their safety in Delhi, Mobile App 'Himmat' hasbeen launched on 1st January, 2015 for android based smart phones. ‘Himmat’application for i­phone users has also been launched on 19th March, 2015. Theapplication is functioning 24X7 in the Central Police Control Room, Delhi. Thisapplication downloaded in the smart phone helps women to raise SOS alert in caseof any emergency and the same gets reported along with victim/ caller location inreal time on the computer consoles placed in the Central Police Control Room. Anautomatic 30 second audio video recording is also triggered off on pressing the SOSbutton. Immediately after the SOS is received, SMS alerts relating to the distresswill be sent simultaneously to PCR, Delhi, SHO of local Police Station and PolicePatrol Vans in the areas to reach scene of crime without loss of time. SMS alert willalso be sent to the predefined relatives/friends of women. The App downloaded in awoman’s mobile phone will be a boon to ensure her safety in NCT of Delhi as atouch of a button in times of emergency will instantly connect her to Central PoliceControl Room, Delhi and trigger response from Delhi Police. The launching ofthis application is a major achievement towards instilling a sense of security andconfidence in women, with technology at their tips to save them instantly at thetime of distress. The application has received overwhelming response. As on7.4.2015, there are around 31000 downloads; 7298 registered users; and 2749 SOScalls (Delhi­1712, NCR­259; outside Delhi­769; and outside India­9).

30. Web­based App for Police Clearance Certificate: With a view to curb human

interface, to ensure transparency in police functioning and to provide efficient andtime­bound services to the people of NCT of Delhi, Delhi Police has taken thesignificant step of launching a web­based App. for ‘Police Clearance Certificate’(PCC) on 08.08.2014. Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) is required for thepurpose of applying for visa, admissions to several educational institutions, Job,

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purpose of applying for visa, admissions to several educational institutions, Job,etc. One can use this web­based App for obtaining a PCC. The basic details filledup by an applicant are automatically checked with the Crime Records Bureau anddigitally signed “PCC” is sent to the applicant’s e­mail ID. This move has solvedthe major difficulty that was faced by the public who were in the need of a PCC. This is one of the significant steps towards providing citizen­centric services. TillMarch, 2015, around 50000 applications have been received under the App.

Initiatives taken by the Government of India for redressal of long pendinggrievances of 1984 Anti­Sikh riots victims.31. Following initiatives have been taken by the Government of India for redressal of

long pending grievances of 1984 Anti­Sikh riots victims: (i) The Government of India, vide its order dated 16.12.2014, has sanctioned

additional compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to Next of Kin of the persons who diedin 1984 anti­Sikh riots, which would be initially paid by the respectiveState/UT Governments and subsequently reimbursed by Government of India.

(ii) The Government constituted a Committee on 23.12.2014 under thechairmanship of Justice G.P. Mathur to look into the grievances relating to the1984 Anti­Sikh riots.

(iii) Based on the recommendation of Justice GP Mathur Committee, the

Important advisory: This is background and reference material, as received and compiled from respective Ministries.The achievements and initiatives are not listed in any particular order of priority or importance. The material is to facilitate,basically, media persons to use it appropriately.

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